IDW #128: Concept Bike 2017

[yoitisi]

Topic: Concept Bike 2017

Background: An automotive related topic for this weeks' IDW! Your challenge for this week is to come up with a concept motorcycle for the year 2017. Just like in the car industry, it is a tradition for motorcycle companies to present their vision of future bikes in the form of concept bikes. The bike you are designing be your vision of what motorcycles are going to look like in 2017.

Please keep a few aspects in mind when designing your bike though! It is tempting to put the biggest engine in the fastest shape you can imagine, but just like in the car industry themes like green energy, transportation in cities and safety are hot issues too.

There are a few restrictions too this round: the format of your final entry is an orthographic side-view of your concept bike. You are allowed to include other views too if you like, but bike concepts are usually made in side-views to start with.

Secondly, include a human figure on your bike! You can do this either in your main render or in a small insert if you like, but bikes are designed to look good with or without a rider (as it is an intergral part of the bikes looks when it's being driven). Feel free to design the riders outfit too while you're at it, but you can also leave it a simplyfied human silhouette if you wish.

Brief:
1. Design and draw a motorcycle concept for the year 2017!
2. Your final entry should be an orthographic side-view, and include a human figure on the bike somewhere!
3. That's it... now draw!

Deadline: Saturday, May 15
Rounds are usually closed around noon on Sunday (GMT +2 - Amsterdam time)

[Sholly]

A recumbent motorcycle for 2017! That's apparently what this is.

Also, hello, all. Now that it's summer, I'm sure I'll be seeing all you all around quite a bit.

[evamonkeyn2]

For people curious about electric bike designs.

http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-ds/features.php

[Truepinkas]

Well since it's a 'concept' bike, I'm making mine a lot sexier than production models will ever be. But that's the nature of concept cars and bikes anyhow. What I'm going for is 'electric is sexy'. It's kind of an attempt to say, just because it's electric doesn't mean it has to be slower or unattractive. As for the getting it to work, well that's for the engineers to figure out...

Rough idea, just playing with shapes really. I have about 30 thumbs on a steno pad. so I've been doing a lot of mixing and matching. The general shape I think i'm going with (at least from the side view) is a water droplet with a cut off tail, which is a very fast shape aerodynamically.

Edit (blueish one): I was thinking, why am i making it rear wheel drive? With electric I'm thinking it's be relatively doable to do front wheel, so I've altered the shape to give it more of a 'guts are in the front' feeling. At this point the back of the bike and the passengers are basically being pulled around by the front part...

[evamonkeyn2]

What I am going to do with this is push an angle of subtraction and simplification, reducing the number of parts as massively as possible to push the visual minimalism that the very first motorbikes had, they were after all bikes with a motor on them. XD

I have a fairly solid idea in my head of where I want to go with it visually, and explored that with some silhouette thumbnails.

Using orbital wheels with motors for drive and turning internal to the rim, reducing suspension to a no moving parts system based on increasing flexibility in the reduction of thickness of a material, all the concepts would feature the bikes displays all being internal to the helmet, and in one or two easy to identify cases the bikes controls would be internal to the gloves and activated via pressure from the thighs and feet.

Looking forward to turning out a final.

[yoitisi]

Please keep in mind that the front wheel on a bike is there for steering All three entries so far will probably have some issues in that department...

[Truepinkas]

Yes, I can see how turning would be a convenient feature...LOL. I have now incorporated articulation points in my design.

I also dropped the hub-less rim look as early views from other angles didn't look good, and I had some concerns about drag from the vacuum that would form in the center of the front wheel.

I'm also seriously considering turning my design into a trike w/ two wheels in the front. Would that be alright or are we sticking strictly to two wheelers?

[evamonkeyn2]

All three entries so far will probably have some issues in that department...

You assume too much I think.

Actually I can be less vague than that.

I can tell you that it has a tighter turning circle than any bike currently on the road.

[yoitisi]

Evamonkeyn2: Hehe fair enough, I'll wait and see then shall I?

[evamonkeyn2]

I have a question for you. Expect a pm.

[Truepinkas]

Don't mind me just another revision on the basic idea...If when I come back to it in a hour or so I don't have any major reservations I guess I can start in on the actual image and jot just my scraggly color sketch.

[NPlaxco]

[NPlaxco]

[Sholly]

What, you mean to say they do have to have some control over where the bike goes?



...I went ahead and added in a pivot point and threw some colors around.

[struve]

the mass of the bike in the front looks cool Truepinkas,

I love all things with an engine. I've got to get into this one.

these are from my sketch book, just doodling. the first one is a sports bike, jet bike thing, yeah doesn't make since for the year 2017, but i'll show anyways the second one is more of a cruiser.

[Sholly]

With or without the windshield. I think it looks better without, but it can be a useful thing to have.

[struve]

Sholly - the silhouette is more dynamic without the windshield. but with the windshield it feels more solid. i think it pulls the design together.

[evamonkeyn2]

Basic concept steering system diagrams.

[mbetteker]

Great stuff so far! I am liking the side view ortho format for this round, should level out the playing field a bit too.

See you later this week!

[Sholly]

Truepinkas - I like the scraggly color sketch! But, I guess for a final it would need a bit more revision. The orange bike is looking good, so far. The really pale silver on the back wheel might need to appear elsewhere on the bike, 'cause as is it stands out a lot.

evamonkeyn2 - The silhouettes are sweet. They remind me of some sort of steam punkian, steam-powered machine things that do something.

NPlaxco - The black and white sketches have a lot of energy and shape to them -- can't wait to see the finals of that.

Struve - Thanks for the feedback! I really like the design for the jetbike, even if it wouldn't be possible in 2017. The one-wheelness is neat, even if that one-wheel would get burned out pretty quick with a jetbike. I guess they'd have better technology for wheels, though, if they have it for jetbikes, eh?

[skyline]

my first sketch

[skyline]

i think the first one feels a bit to stretched out. i have started to go more for the mtb stance rather than stupidly aerodynamic, more agressive. prehaps an of road design.

[evamonkeyn2]

Honing the lines and colour palette.

I want to go with bright and fun, I want this to be a bike for people who would not currently consider buying one.

[Ricardo Robles]

Hello people, i´ll try to present something for this IDW, i like the subject
This are first tests.
I still have to simplify a lot, it seems very futuristic for 2017. Have to work in the axis too.
evamonkeyn2, cool and funny design, i like it!

[Benza]

Here´s my wip, maby not overly futuristic but it is a fair idea of what I think a motorbike will look like. Comments and crits are more then welcomed.
The bike is a electric powered bike, with a kind of dynamo thing on the frontwheel, transfering and using some of the movment energy back in to batterypower.. The fueltank is a cargobox for storage, since any addon bags and such disturbs the weight ratio of the bike and make it unbalanced.

[jdeegz]

lots of really slick designs in here, i cant wait to see some finished works!

[cjuzzz]

sweet topic! i've always liked the look of sports bike so that's what i'm going to design
been doing some exploration...copic marker first cause it's quicker then went into photoshop and tweaked out some tighter silhouettes and shapes

my idea is that although 7 years is a long time i don't believe motorcycle technology will advance to the point where the overall proportions and shapes of sports bikes will change all that much so i'm keeping it within the same type of look as the current sports bikes we have now...just a little more "concept-y"
anyways here's what i've got so far...i'm liking c, d, and e




time to do make the line art...this is gonna suck...

[Truepinkas]

Did a cleaned up blank version of mine. Pretty sure this is my final design. I had to raise the seat and make it a single rider after a friend of mine pointed out how HUGE my bike was compared to the people, and the fact that the driver couldn't see over the front of the bike very well.

I'm going for the race/sport bike look, so huge wasn't an ideal adjective...

I re-branded my bike as 'Luna' after a buddy of mine's dog who's kidneys aren't doing to well right now...

[Truepinkas]

FREE OPINIONS AND CRITIQUES, GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE HOT!!!

Sholly: Very fun and chopper-esque. I don't personally like the wind shield, but without it I'm not sure what sets this apart from current custom bikes. Try to push it a bit further, I think you'll be pleased with what you find.

evamonkeyn2: Your designs are screaming of urban/suburban eco-enthused young professionals. I think I know several people who'd buy something like that right now if it was on the market. For my personal taste though I feel unsettled when thinking about perching atop such a thing.

NPlaxco: You got some neat ones in your second post, I look forward to seeing something more fleshed out.

Struve: I like the jet bikes, even if they aren't really good for this IDW. The chopper feels very bio mechanical presently, and somehow reminds me of a whale...

skyline: interesting starts. The yellow really grabs my eye on that first one. With both of yours though I'm left wondering, are they driving it, or holding on for dear life. But then again, maybe that's part of the appeal.

Ricardo Robles: Enclosed designs eh? Tough subject matter, look forward to more fleshed out stuff.

Benza: It has a very retro look to it. Be careful that it doesn't look too much like a classic though. The detail on the front rim is nice, but try and pack a few more surprises in there for the viewers.

cjuzzz: A and B are VERY slick! Genuinely excited to see more.

[jeremygordon89]

My first time doing any of the challenges, I decided I'd give it a shot finally.